


life (with you) is a gift to hold onto

by bytheseas



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 03:17:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15258231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bytheseas/pseuds/bytheseas
Summary: David wakes up after a car accident surrounded by his family, but his boyfriend keeps finding excuses to be anywhere but close to him.(written for the prompt “I thought you were dead...” sent to me by @blamefiction on tumblr)





	life (with you) is a gift to hold onto

David wakes up to white walls and whirring machines and it's all more than a little disconcerting.  

 

He could have sworn he was just in the car.  Alexis was sitting in the passenger seat, going on about how Ted wanted to adopt a dog and how she had never really liked dogs but she was considering it because he wanted it so badly and she found this really cute collar at the pet store that totally went with her favorite shoes and-

 

Actually that conversation is the last thing he remembers.

 

The first thing he hears when he wakes up is his mother’s voice, screaming at the top of her lungs.  “John! _John_! Pat! He’s awake!”

 

He’s not really sure why she’s hysterical about him waking up, but then again, his mother gets hysterical over everything.

 

“Mom...I told you..we’re not doing Pat,"  talking feels like such an effort, and his voice is quiet to his own ears despite his irritation. 

 

He feel someone warm and solid pulling him forward and wrapping their arms around him, and then he’s out again.

 

\--

 

"It was seriously terrifying, David.  You hit your head when the guy ran into us, and you were out -- totally gone.  I mean, you weren't actually gone, but I thought you were and..."

 

Alexis trails off.  Her eyes are wide and runs a hand through David’s hair and gives him a fond look and it’s _unnerving_ , because they’re never affectionate with each other, but it’s sweet.

 

Actually his whole family has been extremely clingy in the past hour since he came back to again, hugging him and holding his hand and offering to bring him things.  It’s nice, but it’s...a lot. He’s the same son and brother who lived at an Amish farm for days without them noticing, so the excessive attention is not at all what he’s used to.

 

 

And then there’s his boyfriend, who seems to want to be anywhere but close to him.  Patrick has been sitting by the door, just looking on at the Rose family chaos before him with a distracted look on his increasingly pale face.   

 

“I’m going to get some coffee.  Anyone want coffee?” Patrick says, all in a rush as he gets up from his chair by the door.  He runs out without even giving anyone a chance to respond.

 

This is not the first time Patrick has done this in the time since David came to, and it's starting to freak him out.

 

"Is he okay?"  he asks, staring towards the door.  

 

"Pat has had a rough time of it,”  his mother muses, as she straightens his blankets unnecessarily, "You should have seen him when we got to the ER, he-"

 

"We've just all had a scare,"  Johnny puts a hand on Moira's shoulder and cuts her off.  "He's just trying to be helpful."

 

“Okay,” David’s voice is uncertain and he doesn’t break his gaze from the door.   He leans back and sinks lower onto the bed, and his head _hurts_ but he’s not even sure it’s from the injury.   Alexis takes his hand and squeezes it and he squeezes back.

 

\--

 

They've told him they need to keep him for observation overnight, just as a precaution, but thankfully his family leaves.  It's just getting dark outside when Patrick comes back from a trip to get an unnecessary glass of ice water, and they're finally alone.  He sits next to David on the edge of the bed, looking off to somewhere else. It's when David takes his hand and squeezes it that he finally looks at David's face.  

 

Patrick is confident and sure of himself and strong, but in this moment he looks close to breaking.  Fear isn't something that David can remember ever seeing in Patrick's face before, but he sees it now.  He thinks that maybe he saw some version of it that night of the barbecue, but this is different. 

 

"David, when I got the call from Alexis and she was crying and she said there was a crash, I thought...I thought you were dead,"  his eyes are shining with tears. "And then when I first got to the hospital and saw you laying there I just. I..I've never been that scared."  The tears are falling now, trailing down his cheeks.

 

David has always thought that Patrick was the strong one in their relationship.  It's Patrick who takes the first steps. It's Patrick who calms him when he's anxious -- who talks him through his panic attacks and knows what to say when he's upset.   But maybe it's not like that -- maybe they're both weak and very human, but also capable of being strong when the other one needs them to be, and maybe that's what wholly loving another person is about:  you being there for them, and them being there for you. 

 

"It's okay.  I'm here. I'm okay,"  David says, and Patrick nods a few times, like he's trying to believe it.

 

David rubs the back of Patrick's hand with his thumb, and Patrick sinks down til they're both laying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.  He pulls David's hand onto his chest, holding it close. The room is silent for a span of minutes, but then Patrick speaks again. 

 

"I could live without you,"  his voice is quiet, but the words are clear.  

 

David looks at him, curiously.  "That's what you've taken from today?" his voice is soft, but there's a note of incredulity that he just can't help.

 

Patrick turns to him, and his expression is serious. "I could, but I don't ever want to have to."

 

David wants so badly to say: 'you’ll never have to', but there’s just no way of knowing that, not for sure, so he says: “I don’t ever want to live without you either.”

 

Patrick leans forward and kisses him on the forehead, and then on his lips, and when he lays back down a moment later, some of the tension has left him, and his face looks a little more peaceful.  

 

It's this expression that David holds onto as he falls asleep. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr @davidrosed


End file.
